What is a Design Charrette? - An Explainer by Mike Simoneau of Fuss & O'Neill, Six-time Charrette Volunteer
Plan NH’s mission is to foster excellence in planning, design, and development of New Hampshire’s built environment.
Charrettes are one of the most direct and impactful ways we bring that mission to life.
Since 1996, Plan NH has facilitated 85 Community Design Charrettes in 69 New Hampshire communities—bringing together residents, volunteers, and local leaders to listen, collaborate, and imagine what’s possible. To date, these charrettes have helped communities launch conversations, build momentum, and take meaningful steps toward a more vibrant future.
But what exactly IS a design charrette?
A Community-Centered Planning Process
Our Community Design Charrette program is an exercise where local citizens and Plan NH volunteers come together to explore potential solutions to planning and design challenges in individual New Hampshire municipalities. Interested communities submit an application identifying one or more issues within their town—commonly ranging from transportation infrastructure and multimodal access to housing shortages and zoning challenges—for Plan NH to review, understand, and potentially select for a two-day community design workshop.
The Two-Day Collaborative Workshop
This two-day workshop brings together professionals with diverse backgrounds and experience in architecture, engineering, planning, construction, housing, and real estate to collaborate with community members, town personnel, local business owners, and other key stakeholders. Together, they imagine what could be possible. This compressed, intense format has proven effective because it engages the most passionate and invested individuals in the community and provides them an opportunity to express both what they currently see and what they hope to see in their town. This firsthand information allows community members to work with Plan NH’s professional volunteer team to create a vision for updates, upgrades, and even transformations in their community.
The Power of Intensity and Focus
What is most special and impressive about the design charrette process is its sheer intensity and purposefulness, compressed into such a brief period of time. Traditionally, these two-day events start mid-morning on a Friday when the charrette team meets in person for the first time and culminate by Saturday afternoon around 3 p.m. with a public presentation summarizing the team’s findings and recommendations.
In those approximately 30 hours, the team:
- Takes a walking tour of the project site
- Meets with key stakeholders
- Meets with the public twice
- Debriefs late into the evening
- Regroups early Saturday to discuss, sketch, and envision possibilities
By Saturday afternoon, findings are presented, and what is possible and potentially feasible becomes clear. This powerful, iterative process—completed entirely by volunteers with expertise in their respective design, technical, and planning fields—is often the first step toward potential community improvements.
A Recent Success Story: Hampton’s 85th Charrette
Last October, Plan New Hampshire completed its 85th charrette in Hampton, and its report (add link) summarizes recommendations for community upgrades. From connectivity and transportation improvements to wayfinding, public art, and housing redevelopment, the charrette team listened to residents and stakeholders, collected and distilled data, and worked collaboratively to pull together preliminary recommendations in less than two days.
Guided by the Town Planner, our team visited multiple project areas throughout town, including landmarks, troublesome roadways, and potential redevelopment parcels, discussing ideas and possible solutions. Since the process is community-driven, we engaged with community members during one key stakeholder session and two brainstorming sessions open to the public to fully understand diverse viewpoints, wishes, and frustrations with certain areas, amenities, or gaps in the overall downtown Hampton landscape.
On Saturday morning, the charrette team met at Town Hall, formed small groups to focus on specific project areas, and worked together to sketch possibilities and assemble a presentation given to the public that afternoon. This presentation became the basis for the final report, which is now in the hands of the Town of Hampton and can be used as a guide moving forward to explore and possibly implement some of the team’s recommendations.
Looking Forward: Plymouth’s Upcoming Charrette
In 2026, the town of Plymouth will become the 70th New Hampshire community to experience the Plan NH Community Design Charrette. Many municipalities that have gone through the process have implemented some of the recommendations from the program.
Interested in Hosting a Charrette?
For more information about the process, or if your community is interested in hosting Plan NH for a design charrette, please visit our charrette page: https://plannh.org/programs/charrettes
And we have an upcoming Charrette Program Info Session where you can learn more!
